The numbers are in!

Have you ever wondered how your Division performed in Philadelphia’s 2nd Ward when compared to other Divisions? (What’s my Division?) Well, the official voter file is in and we’ve crunched the numbers. (Don’t forget to check out how the Ward performed City-wide if you haven’t already.)

Important notes:

All statistics have been rounded up or down. So, some numbers may appear to be a statistical dead heat.
All charts reflect registered Democrats.

So, let’s dive in…

% Turnout

EVERY Division beat the City average!

% Turnout Leaderboard

A little competition is a good thing!

% and Raw Turnout compared to average of GN17 through GN21

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2017-2022 General Election Percent Turnout by Division - Democrats

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2017-2022 General Election Turnout by Division - Democrats

The City increased 7.4% compared to the average of Generals 2017-2021. The 2nd Ward showed a 12.5% increase.

In terms of raw voter turnout, the City showed a 26% increase compared to a 41% increase by the 2nd Ward over this period. (The City lost 5% raw turnout over the 2018 General while the 2nd Ward increased 16%.)

One thing to keep in mind about the average General turnout of 2017-2021 is that 2020 was a year of historically high voter turnout. That tended to skew the statistics up. But, even with 2020, both the City and the 2nd Ward are exceeding those averages.

Turnout Voting Method

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2022 General Election Turnout by Voting Method by Division - Democrats

This shows the raw number of votes cast per Division broken into Mail, At Polls, Absentee, and Provisional.

Turnout Voting Method comparison GN21 to GN22

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2022 General Election Turnout by Percent Voting Method by Division - Democrats

It looks like voting by mail has become less popular as pandemic concerns are easing.

% voted early

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2022 General Election Percent Early Voting by Division - Democrats

Voted early means:

Mail-in voting, Civilian overseas, Absentee
Any voting method other than At Polls (AP)

% Mail-in Ballots spoiled

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2022 General Election Spoiled Ballots by Division - Democrats

Spoiling a mail-in ballot means bringing it to the polls and voting in person, possibly even provisionally. But, despite the name, spoiled ballots are not a bad thing, per se. It may mean that the voter forgot to mail their ballot on time, and since drop boxes have decreased in number, that person decided to bring their ballot to the polls. (We’d much rather have a spoiled ballot than no vote at all!) Overall, the number of spoiled ballots have dropped dramatically in both the City and 2nd Ward.

Mail-in Ballots Unreturned

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2022 General Election Unreturned Mail Ballots by Division - Democrats

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2022 General Election Percent Unreturned Mail Ballots by Division - Democrats

(This was corrected by subtracting the number of mail-in ballots that were spoiled.) Every Division was below the City’s average of unreturned mail-in ballots. Overall, maybe because there were fewer mail ballots requested, there was a (large) drop in those that went unreturned.

% Change in Turnout between GN21 and GN22

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2022 General Election Percent Change Turnout by Division - Democrats

In general, turnout was way up over the last General Election.

% Turnout of Inaccessible Doors mailing

Philadelphia 2nd Ward 2022 General Election Mailing % voted by Division - Democrats

Again, the 2nd Ward mailed endorsements to our inaccessible doors, although somewhat limited this time. These are homes or apartments our Committeepeople have flagged that they cannot canvass in person. We saw a 93% average turnout in this population, which is a sign that our mailing dollar was well spent.

Now check out how the Ward performed City-wide if you haven’t already.